Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital (Wamenkomdigi) Nezar Patria said that the presence of the Indonesia Open Network (ION) could be a solution to the digital divide among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia.
At the 12th Annual Indonesia Economic Forum 2026 in Jakarta on Thursday, he stated that there are still gaps that cannot be ignored behind the growth of the national digital economy.
According to Nezar, the value of the national digital economy is projected to exceed 130 billion US dollars by the end of this year and digital payments have become part of people's lives.
In the first half of 2025 alone, the value of QRIS-based transactions was recorded to have reached more than 6 billion times.
"These numbers are impressive, but they don't really tell the whole story. Behind this growth, there are gaps we can't ignore," Nezar said.
He stated that Indonesia has approximately 64.2 million MSMEs, which contribute 61 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) and absorb 97 percent of the national workforce. However, not all MSMEs are integrated into the digital ecosystem.
According to Nezar, some MSMEs, especially those outside major cities, still face a number of barriers to accessing digital platform support, including high platform commission rates and limited access to data services.
"Instead of empowering, digital systems sometimes actually hinder the growth of MSMEs. For many business owners, the digital economy still feels like a closed space, not an open one," he said.
"This is exactly the problem that the Indonesia Open Network aims to solve," he added.
